Dr Faye Wray

Profile

Faye is a Senior Research Fellow at the Academic Unit for Ageing and Stroke Research, Leeds Institute of Health Sciences. Faye’s disciplinary background is in Psychology and her research interests include; improving psychological wellbeing and adjustment after stroke, complex intervention development (including co-production) and methods to enhance the inclusion of underserved groups (such as stroke survivors with aphasia) in research. Faye was awarded her PhD in 2018 and began a Postdoctoral Fellowship funded by the Stroke Association in 2019. This fellowship focused on developing and feasibility testing a supported self-management approach for stroke survivors with aphasia. The self-management approach aimed to help stroke survivors with aphasia to develop strategies and confidence to cope with aphasia in everyday situations. Following this, Faye has been awarded an NIHR Development and Skills Enhancement Award (2026-2028) to develop further knowledge and skills in optimisation and phase III clinical trials of complex interventions. Faye is primarily a qualitative researcher; she has worked in a variety of roles in applied health research since 2010.

Research interests

Faye’s research interests include:

• Improving psychological wellbeing and adjustment after stroke
• Supported self-management interventions
• Complex intervention development (including co-production)
• Methods to enhance the inclusion of underserved groups in research (such as stroke survivors with aphasia)

Funding:

Wray, F. (mentors: Forster, A., Cruice, M., Farrin, A., Smith, S., Demeyere, N). Development and Skills Enhancement Award. National Institute for Health and Care Research, £110 281.38, 2026-2028.

Wray, F. Forster, A. Clarke, D. Cruice, M. [Postdoctoral Fellowship]. Feasibility study of a supported self-management intervention for stroke survivors with aphasia (StarStep study). Stroke Association (Ref: SA/PDF/19100011), £174,999.60, 2019-2026.

Wray, F. Forster, A. Clarke, D. [Postgraduate studentship]. David and Anne-Marie Marsden Scholarship for Stroke Rehabilitation, University of Leeds, £90 000, 2014-2017.

PhD supervision:

Faye is PhD supervisor, a thesis supervisor on the Doctorate in Clinical Psychology programme and has supervised healthcare professionals undertaking Health Education England research internships and NIHR Pre-doctoral Clinical and Practitioner Academic Fellowships (PCAF). Faye would welcome the opportunity to supervise PhD students undertaking research in the following areas; improving longer-term care for stroke survivors, self-management of long-term conditions, complex intervention development for long-term conditions.

Qualifications

• PhD Medicine; University of Leeds, 2018
• MSc Health Services Research; University of York, 2015
• BA(Hons) Psychology; University of Manchester, 2009

Professional memberships

• British Aphasiology Society
• Collaboration of Aphasia Trialists

Research groups and institutes

• Leeds Institute of Health Sciences
• Academic Unit for Ageing and Stroke Research
• Frailty and elderly care